DESIGN / Portfolio
Combining Art & Science Since 1989
Bring The Creative Thunder!
Be yourself in expressing your concept – Don’t water it down, twist it to fit in, adapt it, or bend it into an accordion to appease some preconceived notion. Make it resonate with your target audience and the client’s needs. Have it stand on its own merit. Not everyone will see your conceptual perspective but executed well, you will be surprised at what ends up becoming wildly successful!
Be Classic – A good idea is great, but too many good ideas are a nightmare. Try not to recreate the Mona Lisa on the head of a pin, just keep it simple and clear. This is especially imperative in messaging, logo marks, and digital media.
Pop it – Once you have your creative concept roughed out, sit down and “pop it”. In other words, make it sing and take out any extra fluff. It doesn’t have to be overly fussed with. Good creative work usually comes out pretty pure in the first pass. You might need to receive some helpful insight from team members and then refine it to make it gel. Keep the foundational form intact. Don’t overly obsess over it, since you may dilute the best parts of your masterpiece by trying to overwork it.
Flop it – Unlike the component above, this refers to taking a different approach from what the mainstream is doing. Meaning observe what is currently being done well (result-driven) and come up with a new innovative perspective of your own. Not just to be a separatist or a contrarian but to significantly offer a whole new viewpoint to your target audience. Transforming how they see, express, communicate, or utilize a product or service’s offerings.
Branding & Storytelling
Whether a company is a new startup, or they require a refresh to their existing brand, the process of brand development & design is considerably extensive and detailed. The final outcome must deliver results and become a solid foundation from which the brand can scale and build awareness.
✪ Brand Identity, Brand Messaging – The Unique Value Proposition
Building A Brand
The first step to developing a new brand often isn’t just an attractive name, but rather it involves deep research and analysis. Understanding the company as an entity, its team, the products/services offered, and the specific industry in which they are competing in, all must be evaluated. The first step is identifying what you don’t know and verifying what you THINK you know about the company.
Here are the key components that need to be researched, analyzed, and evaluated before moving onto the creative.
Logomarks
A logomark design or redesign has long been the foundation of every large and small brand. “But a successful rebranding involves overhauling a company’s goals, messaging, and culture — not just changing the name or logo.”
Website Design & Development
Strong website design, content, and user experience (UX) are crucial to a successful online presence.
Visuals and Messaging – Think of your website landing page as a postcard mailed to your prospective customers. You only have a few seconds to get their attention, provide interest and value, to get them to keep reading and engaging. If they do not stay on your website, it will be difficult to make a relationship with them and ultimately receive their business.
SEO Content and UX Experience – Referred to as on-page SEO or on-page search optimization, it’s a big factor relating to where your website will appear in search results. You also need to understand your target customer(s), what they are searching for, and the kind of content that provides value related to search. Plus the users’ overall experience and interaction on the site.
The Value Of Website Performance
Today, a website or app not only needs to be well designed, address your customers’ needs and be easy to navigate, but it also needs to perform well. Performance can be everything from the speed with which it loads pages and functions, to its ability to accurately and intuitively function for your end-users. And when it comes to technology, innovation and speed are everything.
Mobile commerce or mcommerce is the most advanced technology and internet convergence that is facilitated through mobile devices. Consider mcommerce as the mobile device equivalent of ecommerce for the desktop computer.
The majority of mcommerce purchases are made on the smartphone, tablets, and other devices. In fact, by 2020 smartphones will capture $129.44 billion of all retail mcommerce spending in the US, which represents a purchasing growth rate of 18.3%.
Social Media Content & Graphics
Three Types of Social Media Content:
Promotional Content is designed to educate and attract customers to your products and services, learn about their benefits, unique features, and advantages over the competition and how it solves your customer’s problems.
Selfless Content is content that is relevant to your target customers’ needs and interests, yet often has nothing to do with your brand’s products or services. It’s about putting time, attention, and resources toward creating professionally developed content that speaks to your customer about their lives, outside of what your brand does.
Blog or Editorial Content is research-driven content that speaks to your audience’s needs, interests, and challenges. Just because a certain content type is generally the most effective type of content, doesn’t mean producing it will be effective. Quality content that drives results is a different thing than just creating content without the experience and research required to make it effective.
Various Content Types Applied for Content Effectiveness:
- Research Reports and White Papers
- Blog Posts and Videos
- News Articles
- Press Releases
- Infographics
- Webinars and Podcasts
- Newsletters
Social Media Videos
Industry & Selfless Relevant Value Videos
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Anya L. Caruso
Covering over 30 years in the creative and marketing industry, commenced in an ad agency in the New York area, advancing into a Fortune 500 company, and promoted from the advertising department into a brand management position for a national brand. Directed a core team of digital designers, led job and project flow, plus managed a budget of over $1.5 million.
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6414 Sunset Bay Circle, Apollo Beach Florida 33572
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anya@engage2connect.com